Extinction pattern of marine Ostracoda across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary in the Cordillera Ibérica, NE Spain: Causes and consequences

This paper discusses the extinction pattern of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary (PTB) ostracod assemblages at the Almonacid de la Cuba section (Cordillera Ibérica, NE Spain), which has been recently proposed as auxiliary boundary stratotype for the PTB. The ostracod record shows that the main Early Jurassic ostracod extinction event occurred not at the end of the Pliensbachian, but near the top of the Mirabile ammonite Subzone, Tenuicostatum ammonite Zone (Early Toarcian). On the basis of the evaluation of PTB ostracod record, a new causal explanation for the Early Toarcian ostracod turnover is proposed. This paper suggests that a reorganization of surface and deep-water circulations caused by the opening of the Hispanic Corridor could have generated a mild cooling episode, finally affecting the survival of healdioid ostracods.     

Drowning of a Lower Jurassic carbonate platform: Jbel Bou Dahar, High Atlas, Morocco

Summary The high-plateau of the Jbel Bou Dahar, situated in the Central and Eastern High Atlas of Morocco, represents a Lower Jurassic carbonate platform that drowned at the beginning of the Toarcian. Three phases of platform evolution can be distinguished: During thepre-drowning phase (upper Sinemurian— upper Pliensbachian) the platform interior facies reflects a restricted-marine lagoonal environment, protected by scattered buildups and cemented debris at the platform margin. Upper and mid-slope are dominated by coarse-grained, poorly sorted limestones, deposited through debris flows during sea-level lowstands. Sea-level highstand deposits occur at the toe of slope and are formed by an alternation of fine-grained litho- and bioclastic pack- to grainstones (turbidites), marls and mud- to wackestones (hemipelagic oozes). A condensed section, reflecting an abrupt and fundamental environmental change along the entire platform, characterises thedrowning phase (upper Pliensbachian— lower Toarcian). Within the platform interior densely packed biosparites represent the switch to high-energy environments, causing erosion of the former pre-drowning lagoonal sediments. These erosional products were redeposited on the platform slope, leading to the formation of coarse-grained non-skeletal sparites and micrites. Both platform interior and slope successions show a series of cyclic variations in sediment composition that could have been triggered by small-scale sea-level fluctuations. In contrast to the abrupt facies change at the pre-drowning —drowning boundary, the transition to thepost-drowning phase (lower Toarcian—Aalenian) is gradual. During this phase, biopelmicrites and pure micrites were deposited in all platform sections, followed by the deposition of calcistiltites. The facies point to quiet-water conditions below storm-wave base and display a uniform deep-marine sedimentation. This analysis shows that the drowning of the Jbel Bou Dahar carbonate platform was caused by abrupt and fundamental changes in the shallow-water realm. After exposure of the platform, these changes prevented the carbonate factory from re-establishing itself and made it impossible for the platform to keep up with the subsequent rise in sea level. These local changes were probably triggered by high-frequency sealevel variations in combination with regional or even worldwide changes in ocean circulation patterns.     

Brachiopodes toarciens de la coupe d’Aït Athmane,Haut Atlas centro-oriental (Maroc)

The Aït Athmane section is located in the eastern part of the central High Atlas, about 20 km north of Errachidia. Its Toarcian series consists of silty marl and silty marly limestone. Its lower part, of early (Levisoni Zone?) to middle Toarcian (Bifrons and Gradata? Zones) age, is rich in brachiopods (rhynchonellides and terebratulides). Its upper part, of late Toarcian age, is rich in terebratulids. Among eighteen reported brachiopod taxa, six are new for the central High Atlas. Their specific assemblages and stratigraphic distributions are similar to those of the Toarcian brachiopods reported from several basins of northern and southern margins of the Tethys and the Subboreal domain, particularly of western France.     

EARLY–MIDDLE JURASSIC LYTOCERATID AMMONITES WITH CONSTRICTIONS FROM MOROCCO: PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS

Abstract:  The ammonite genus Alocolytoceras Hyatt, 1900 is an uncommon lytoceratid with distinctive shell ornament. A set of 58 specimens, recently collected at Amellago in the central High Atlas (Morocco), has enabled us to trace a succession of three species over eight biozones from the Toarcian to the Aalenian. Two specimens from the Lusitanian Basin are added for comparison. Following a review of the genus, based on original specimens and data from the literature, seven species are considered valid. A palaeobiogeographical synthesis of 13 regions demonstrates irregular distribution patterns over time, with a constant presence in the south-west Tethys and an instance of rapid diversification of an endemic fauna in north-west Europe. Our data challenge the conventional view that lytoceratid ammonite evolution was 'conservative'.     

Evolution of C isotopes in the Cambrian of China: implications for Cambrian subdivision and trilobite mass extinctions

Carbon and oxygen isotopes were studied in fossiliferous Cambrian carbonates in northwestern Hunan Province (South China) and in northern Anhui and southern Shandong provinces (North China). Two major C isotope excursions related to biological events occur in the Wangcun section (Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan), which consists of a slope carbonate sequence (510 m thick) containing abundant trilobites. The first C isotope excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from -2.3‰ to 2‰) occurs near the boundary between the Qingxudong and Aoxi formations, close to the traditional Lower-Middle Cambrian boundary. The second excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from 0‰ to 3‰) occurs in the interval between the Linguagnostus reconditus Zone and the Glyptagnostus reticulatus Zone. The base of the G. reticulatus Zone define the base of the Paibi Stage and Furongian Series. Similar C isotope excursions also occur in shallow - water carbonate sections in North China. In Jiagou section near Huainan (Anhui Province), recently considered an important interval for defining the lower-middle Cambrian boundary because of dramatic changes in the trilobite fauna (extinction of redlichiids and appearances of ptychopariids), a negative C isotope excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from +1.21‰ to -1.93‰) occurs at the top of the lower member of the Mantou Formation. In the Gushan section (Changqing County, Shandong Province), a C isotope excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from -0.04‰ to 2.23‰) occurs at the base of the Changshan Formation and is coincident with the base of the Chuangia Zone. This excursion can be correlated with the excursion in the lower part of Glyptagnostus reticulatus Zone in the Wangcun section. The above two distinct C isotope excursions, which occur both in slope carbonates in South China and in shallow - water carbonates in North China, have also been recognized in Cambrian sections on other continents, and they coincide with global mass extinctions of trilobites. The two excursions evidently reflect global changes of Cambrian sea level, and they have utility for Cambrian subdivisions and for both regional and global stratigraphic correlation. In addition, a negative carbon excursion below the base of the Ptychagnostus atavus Zone in the Wangcun section supports previous suggestions that the FAD of P. atavus can be considered as a global correlatable horizon within the middle Cambrian.     

华中西南区一条国际前寒武系与寒武系界线层型补充剖面

1992年,全球前寒武系与寒武系界线层型剖面和层型点确定在加拿大纽芬兰东南幸运角剖面,并以遗迹化石带Trichophycus pedium的底作为前寒武系与寒武系的分界点。但是,幸运角剖面主要是以硅质碎屑岩相为主,难以与含有丰富小壳化石和具有可对比的稳定同位素资料的碳酸盐相界线剖面进行对比。为此,提出我国云南会泽大海附近的一条以碳酸盐相为主的剖面作为全球前寒武系与寒武系界线层型剖面的补充剖面。理由是（1）在大海剖面上,震旦系灯影组白岩哨段、待补段和下寒武统牛家菁组的中谊村段,大海段之间为整合接触;（2）早寒武世早期地层单元含有丰富的小壳化石并且可划分出4个小壳化石组合带;（3）利用碳同位素资料可以将大海剖面与许多其它剖面相当地层对比;（4）著名的梅树村剖面离大海剖面不远,它们均含有丰富的小壳化石和遗迹化石,两者易于对比。文章进一步认为寒武系的下界放在第I小壳化石组合带（Anabarites trisulcatus-Protohertzina anabarica）的底,相当于大海剖面11层的底。     

Late Early Triassic climate change: Insights from carbonate carbon isotopes,sedimentary evolution and ammonoid paleobiogeography

The late Early Triassic sedimentary–facies evolution and carbonate carbon-isotope marine record (δ¹³C_carb) of ammonoid-rich, outer platform settings show striking similarities between the South China Block (SCB) and the widely distant Northern Indian Margin (NIM). The studied sections are located within the Triassic Tethys Himalayan belt (Losar section, Himachal Pradesh, India) and the Nanpanjiang Basin in the South China Block (Jinya section, Guangxi Province), respectively. Carbon isotopes from the studied sections confirm the previously observed carbon cycle perturbations at a time of major paleoceanographic changes in the wake of the end-Permian biotic crisis. This study documents the coincidence between a sharp increase in the carbon isotope composition and the worldwide ammonoid evolutionary turnover (extinction followed by a radiation) occurring around the Smithian–Spathian boundary.Based on recent modeling studies on ammonoid paleobiogeography and taxonomic diversity, we demonstrate that the late Early Triassic (Smithian and Spathian) was a time of a major climate change. More precisely, the end Smithian climate can be characterized by a warm and equable climate underlined by a flat, pole-to-equator, sea surface temperature (SST) gradient, while the steep Spathian SST gradient suggests latitudinally differentiated climatic conditions. Moreover, sedimentary evidence suggests a transition from a humid and hot climate during the Smithian to a dryer climate from the Spathian onwards. By analogy with comparable carbon isotope perturbations in the Late Devonian, Jurassic and Cretaceous we propose that high atmospheric CO₂ levels could have been responsible for the observed carbon cycle disturbance at the Smithian–Spathian boundary. We suggest that the end Smithian ammonoid extinction has been essentially caused by a warm and equable climate related to an increased CO₂ flux possibly originating from a short eruptive event of the Siberian igneous province. This increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations could have additionally reduced the marine calcium carbonate oversaturation and weakened the calcification potential of marine organisms, including ammonoids, in late Smithian oceans.     

Microbes,mud and methane: cause and consequence of recurrent Early Jurassic anoxia following the end‐Triassic mass extinction

The end‐Triassic mass extinction (c. 201.6 Ma) was one of the five largest mass‐extinction events in the history of animal life. It was also associated with a dramatic, long‐lasting change in sedimentation style along the margins of the Tethys Ocean, from generally organic‐matter‐poor sediments during the Triassic to generally organic‐matter‐rich black shales during the Jurassic. New core material from Germany provides biomarker evidence of persistent photic‐zone euxinia during the Hettangian, the onset of which is associated with a series of both negative and positive carbon isotope excursions. Combined inorganic and organic geochemical and micropalaeontological analyses reveal strong similarities between the Hettangian and the better‐known Toarcian anoxic event. These events appear to be the most clearly expressed events within a series of anoxic episodes that also include poorly studied black shale intervals during the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian. Both the Hettangian and Toarcian events are marked by important changes in phytoplankton assemblages from chromophyte‐ to chlorophyte‐dominated assemblages within the European Epicontinental Seaway. Phytoplankton changes occurred in association with the establishment of photic‐zone euxinia, driven by a general increase in salinity stratification and warming of surface waters. For both events, the causes of large negative carbon isotope excursions remain incompletely understood; evidence exists for both variation in the δ¹³C of atmospheric CO₂ and variation in the sources of organic carbon. Regardless of the causes of δ¹³C variability, long‐term ocean anoxia during the Early Jurassic can be attributed to greenhouse warming and increased nutrient delivery to the oceans triggered by flood basalt volcanism.     

Stepwise and large-magnitude negative shift in δ13Ccarb preceded the main marine mass extinction of the Permian–Triassic crisis interval

Large perturbations to the global carbon cycle occurred during the Permian–Triassic boundary mass extinction, the largest extinction event of the Phanerozoic Eon (542 Ma to present). Controversy concerning the pattern and mechanism of variations in the marine carbonate carbon isotope record of the Permian–Triassic crisis interval (PTCI) and their relationship to the marine mass extinction has not been resolved to date. Herein, high-resolution carbonate carbon isotope profiles (δ¹³C_carb), accompanied by lithofacies, were generated for four sections with microbialite (Taiping, Zuodeng, Cili, and Chongyang) in South China to better constrain patterns and controls on δ¹³C_carb variation in the PTCI and to test hypotheses about the temporal relationship between perturbations to the global carbon cycle and the marine mass extinction event. All four study sections exhibit a stepwise negative shift in δ¹³C_carb during the Late Permian–Early Triassic, with the shift preceding the end-Permian crisis being larger (> 3‰) than that following it (1–2‰). The pre-crisis shifts in δ¹³C_carb are widely correlatable and, hence, represent perturbations to the global carbon cycle. The comparatively smaller shifts following the crisis demonstrate that the marine mass extinction event itself had at most limited influence on the global carbon cycle, and that both Late Permian δ¹³C_carb shifts and the mass extinction must be attributed to some other cause. Their origin cannot be uniquely determined from C-isotopic data alone but appears to be most compatible with a mechanism based on episodic volcanism in combination with collapse of terrestrial ecosystems and soil erosion.     

Lower Aptian carbon isotope stratigraphy from a distal carbonate shelf setting: the Cau section, Prebetic zone, SE Spain

A δ¹³C curve is reported for the latest Barremian to Early Aptian at a section located in the Prebetic zone (Cau section, SE Spain). The studied section records a hemipelagic succession of dark shales, deposited on a distal carbonate ramp with a high subsidence rate, adjacent to shallow carbonate environments. The integrated biostratigraphy of the section is based on ammonites, planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils, and it has allowed an accurate dating of the succession. The δ¹³C curve presented shows a distinctive evolution, leading to the recognition of three major excursions, as well as a subdivision into eight segments, which represents an improvement of the current biostratigraphic resolution. The correlation, both isotopic and biostratigraphical, with other well resolved sections is very accurate even at the higher resolution attained. Correlation with sections with low-resolution biostratigraphic characterisation from shallow platform limestones also gives good results, which supports the effectiveness of carbon isotope stratigraphy as a correlation tool.     

Toarcian ammonites of the Polymorphum Zone,Amellago area (eastern central High Atlas), Morocco,with a discussion on ammonite turnover events

In the Amellago area (central High Atlas), the widely distributed Toarcian succession consists of marls and marly limestones of the Tagoudite and Agoudim formations. We here describe, for the first time, the ammonites of the Polymorphum Zone from the Tagoudite Formation, including Canavaria cf. rosenbergi Fucini, C. aff. zancleana (Fucini), Dactylioceras (Eodactylites) mirabile (Fucini), D. (E.) aff. mirabile (Fucini), D. (E.) pseudocommune Fucini, D. (E.) simplex (Fucini), D. (Orthodactylites) aff. crosbeyi (Simpson), Lytoceras gr. villae Meneghini, Neolioceratoides cf. hoffmanni (Gemmellaro) and Praepolyplectus sp. This ammonite assemblage is closely correlated with those reported from the Polymorphum Zone of several basins of the Tethyan margins and the Northwest European Subboreal Realm, indicating marine communications between the different Moroccan Jurassic basins and the central Atlantic trough. The overlying Agoudim Formation yields ammonites of the Levisoni Zone in its base and rare ammonites of the Bifrons Zone in the middle part. Four significant changes in the ammonite assemblages during the early-middle Toarcian and their probable causes are also discussed.     

Uppermost Pliensbachian-Lowermost Toarcian ostracod assemblages from the Western Tethys: Comparison between Traras Mountains (Algeria), Subbetic (Spain), and Algarve (Portugal)

Major changes in ostracod assemblages have been recorded in the Lower Jurassic of Western Tethys related to biotic crises of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary and the Polymorphum-Levisoni boundary (Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event). The study is focused on the ostracods assemblages from Benzerka section (Traras Mountains, Algeria) and their comparison with sections from External Subbetic and Algarve Basin (South Iberian Palaeomargin). Three stratigraphic intervals coincident with the ammonite zones have been differentiated with important fluctuations in the composition of ostracod assemblages. In the ostracod assemblages from the Traras Mountains the turnover related to this benthic biotic crisis is shown by assemblages previous to the biotic crisis (uppermost Pliensbachian) mainly composed by families Healdiidae and Cytherellidae to assemblages just after the T-OAE (upper part of the Levisoni Zone) with assemblages dominated by families Protocytheridae and Polycopidae and the extinction of family Healdiidae (suborder Metacopina). The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) probably resulted in restricted conditions but a barren interval due to oxygen-depleted conditions in this setting is not recorded. In this context, the change of components of ostracod assemblages looks gradual. In the Southiberian Palaeomargin, represented by the External Subbetic the turnover of ostracods assemblages is also recorded but the families involved are different than in Traras Mountains. Therefore, different phases have been differentiated in the ostracod turnover occurring from Upper Pliensbachian (assemblages dominated by families Pontocyprididae, Healdiidae and Bairdiidae) to end of Lower Toarcian (assemblages dominated by family Cytherellidae and the extinction of family Healdiidae). In the Algarve Basin the families Healdiidae and Bairdiidae were dominant previously to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. Differences in the composition of ostracod assemblages between Traras Mountains and External Subbetic may be related to the fragmentation of these palaeomargins related to early stages of rifting in the Western Tethys. Moreover, the incidence of oxygen-depleted conditions was higher in External Subbetic than in Traras Mountains where some ostracod genera survive during the biotic crisis.     

Rapid warming and ostracods mass extinction at the Lower Toarcian (Jurassic) of central Spain

Here we present the results of the study of two Lower Toarcian carbonate sections located in the Iberian Range of central Spain. Analyses of stable isotope on belemnite calcite allowed calculation of seawater palaeotemperature variations, which were compared with the stratigraphical distribution of ostracods. These organisms are particularly sensitive to ratios of temperature and salinity variations and hence are good indicators of climate changes. From a cooling interval, with seawater temperatures of 13.2 °C recorded at the Pliensbachian?Toarcian transition, seawater temperature began to rise in the lowermost Toarcian Tenuicostatum Zone, reaching average temperatures between 14.6 °C and 16.3 °C during the time of deposition of this Zone. Coinciding with this seawater warming, up to 85% of the ostracods species progressively disappeared during a period of approximately 300 kyr, marking the extinction interval. The extinction boundary, located around the Tenuicostatum?Serpentinum zonal boundary, coincides with a marked increase in temperature in the Serpentinum Zone, on which average seawater temperatures of 22 °C have been calculated. Warming continued through part of the Middle Toarcian Bifrons Zone, reaching average temperatures of 24.7 °C. Readjustment of the ostracod population allowed recovery of these faunas in the upper Serpentinum Zone, although the extinction of a major ostracod group, the healdioids, was also recorded. The correlation between mass extinction and warming infers a causal relationship. Comparison of the results with the records of stable isotopes in belemnites and in bulk carbonates, as well as TOC and facies analysis suggests that the anoxia linked to the Early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event was not the main responsible for the ostracod mass extinction.     

An eastern Tethyan (Tibetan) record of the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) mass extinction event

A record of the Early Jurassic mass extinction event is reported from eastern Tethyan (Tibetan) locations for the first time. In the Mount Everest region a thick Lower Jurassic carbonate formation, here named the Yungjia Formation, is developed within the predominantly clastic Triassic–Jurassic succession. Within the formation a sharp transition from peloidal packstones/grainstones to thin‐bedded, pyritic micrite‐shales interbeds records a sharp pulse of deepening and development of dysoxic bottom waters. Both the lithiotid bivalves and the lituolid foraminifera are important constituents of the lower Yungjia Formation but they disappear at this flooding surface or a short distance below it. This extinction event is comparable to that seen at the base of the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary in western Tethyan platform carbonates but the Tibetan events occurred late in the Toarcian Stage as indicated by nannofossil biostratigraphy and C isotope chemostratigraphy. The Early Jurassic extinction event (and the associated spread of oxygen‐poor waters) was therefore not synchronous throughout the Tethyan region.     

Response of Early Cretaceous carbonate platforms to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

During the Late Barremian and Early Aptian (about 120 million years ago) intense volcanic degassing and extremely rapid release of methane hydrates contained in marine sediments added high amounts of carbon to the ocean and atmosphere, and resulted most probably in rising atmospheric carbon dioxide pressure. In order to document the response of the shallow water carbonate-producing communities to this pronounced disturbance of the carbon cycle we studied a Late Barremian to Early Aptian neritic carbonate succession deposited on the northern Tethyan shelf (Swiss Alps). The sedimentological and stable carbon and oxygen isotope records of two sections located along a N–S transect from proximal to more distal shelf environments were investigated. The sediments correspond to outer-, mid-, and inner-ramp deposits of a homoclinal carbonate ramp. Vertical facies variations within the two studied sections feature three progradation phases of the platform. A highly resolved correlation of the shelf sediments with a pelagic succession from the Southern Alps (Northern Italy) is based on both δ¹³C stratigraphy and biostratigraphy, and indicates that the drowning of the Helvetic carbonate platform coincided with a pronounced calcification crisis of calcareous nannofossils. The biocalcification crisis started before but culminated during the Aptian methane event recorded in a negative carbon-isotope spike. We propose that increased carbon dioxide concentrations in oceans and atmosphere related to volcanic activity and to sudden methane release reduced the marine calcium carbonate oversaturation and the calcification potential of benthic and planktonic organisms. Carbonate-producing shallow water communities on platforms and ramps suffering from additional environmental stress such as extreme temperatures or high nutrient levels could not survive during times of rising sea level, and, as a consequence, carbonate platforms drowned.     

Carbon isotope variability and sedimentology of the Upper Permian carbonate rocks and changes across the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Masore section (Western Slovenia)

Carbonate and total organic carbon stable isotope analyses of the Upper Permian and Lower Triassic succession in the Masore section in western Slovenia indicate a high storage of organic matter during the Upper Permian, as well as the well known worldwide light carbon isotope event across the P/Tr boundary. The perturbations in the global carbon cycle observed in the investigated section span an approximately 50 cm thick interval (from –11 cm below to +41 cm above the lithostratigraphically determined P/Tr boundary), and coincide more or less with changes in lithology, as well as with an abrupt disappearance of Upper Permian marine fauna. In this section changes in the sedimentary environment are most probably related to Upper Permian—Lower Triassic sea level changes. The carbonate and organic carbon negative peak anomaly could be explained by accelerated changes in the end Permian carbon cycle, due to some co-occurring events, such as pronounced erosion and oxidation of organic carbon, a possible release of methane from stored hydrates, and volcanic activity, as well as by a sudden reduction in primary productivity triggered by not yet completely satisfactorily explained mechanisms.     

Carbon isotopes and lipid biomarkers from organic‐rich facies of the Shuram Formation,Sultanate of Oman

The largest recorded carbon isotopic excursion in Earth history is observed globally in carbonate rocks of middle Ediacaran age. Known from the Sultanate of Oman as the ‘Shuram excursion’, this event records a dramatic, systematic shift in δ¹³C_carbonate values to ca. ?12‰. Attempts to explain the nature, magnitude and origin of this excursion include (i) a primary signal resulting from the protracted oxidation of a large dissolved organic carbon reservoir in seawater, release of methane from sediment‐hosted clathrates, or water column stratification; and (ii) a secondary signal from diagenetic processes. The compositions and isotope ratios of organic carbon phases during the excursion are critical to evaluating these ideas; however, previous work has focused on localities that are low in organic carbon, hindering straightforward interpretation of the observed time‐series trends. We report carbon isotope data from bulk organic carbon, extracted bitumen and kerogen, in addition to lipid biomarker data, from a subsurface well drilled on the eastern flank of the South Oman Salt Basin, Sultanate of Oman. This section captures Nafun Group strata through the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary in the Ara Group and includes an organic‐rich, deeper‐water facies of the Shuram Formation. Despite the high organic matter contents, the carbon isotopic compositions of carbonates – which record a negative δ¹³C isotope excursion similar in shape and magnitude to sections elsewhere in Oman – do not covary with those of organic phases (bulk TOC, bitumen and kerogen). Paired inorganic and organic δ¹³C data only display coupled behaviour during the latter part of the excursion's recovery. Furthermore, lipid biomarker data reveal that organic matter composition and source inputs varied stratigraphically, reflecting biological community shifts in non‐migrated, syngenetic organic matter deposited during this interval.     

Late Devonian carbon isotope stratigraphy and sea level fluctuations, Canning Basin, Western Australia

The Upper Devonian reef complexes of the Canning Basin contain some of the world’s best exposed, continuous stratigraphic sections through the Frasnian-Famennian boundary. The facies distribution and composition of these reef complexes record interactions among sea level changes, sediment supply, ocean chemistry, and paleoecology. Changes in relative sea level produced spatial shifts in reef platform development and regional changes in sediment supply that can be correlated across facies boundaries using a combination of sequence stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and carbon isotope stratigraphy. During the lowstand interval below the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, the reef margin advanced down the reef slope in shallow-water environments, and siliciclastics locally dominated in the marginal slope environment. Compilation of a broad late Frasnian to early Famennian sequence stratigraphic framework for the Canning Basin demonstrates that transgressive intervals correlate to positive carbon isotopic excursions within the basin. These isotopic shifts also can be correlated to time-equivalent positive carbon isotopic excursions reported from transgressive intervals in Europe. Thus, the late Frasnian transgressions in the Canning Basin were primarily eustatic rather than tectonic in origin, and positive carbon isotopic signatures of the Kellwasser horizons are globally correlative.     

Conodont biostratigraphy and carbon isotope chemostratigraphy of the Middle to Upper Ordovician on the western Yangtze Platform,South China

Middle and Late Ordovician strata in the nearshore area of the western Yangtze Platform are investigated. In total, 241 δ¹³C_carb samples and 108 conodont samples from the Songliang and Tuanjie sections in the northeastern Yunnan Province were collected for chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic studies. Altogether, 21 species belonging to 16 conodont genera were recovered from the two sections, among which Ansella jemtlandica, Drepanoistodus basiovalis, Hamarodus brevirameus, and Microzarkodina hagetiana are important age indicators within the Dapingian to early Katian interval. Four carbon isotope shifts are recognized in the studied sections: a negative shift in the early Darriwilian, the middle Darriwilian carbon isotope excursion (MDICE), the early Katian Guttenberg carbon isotope excursion (GICE), and a further positive carbon isotope shift later in the early Katian which is a new record of this event in South China. Integrated carbon chemostratigraphy and conodont biostratigraphy indicate early Darriwilian and early Katian ages for the base and top, respectively, of the Huadan Formation at the Songliang section, and a Darriwilian to early Katian age for the Shihtzupu Formation at the Tuanjie section.